Teaching+Persuasive+Writing

Shea McGuire Article Summary SCKWP 2006 Principled Teaching to (wards) the Test? Persuasive Writing in two Classrooms Julie E. Wollman-Bonilla

“Persuasive writing can be taught in a principled way while also preparing students for high-stakes tests.”

Student are faced with writing persuasive writing on standards- based essay test but teachers may know little about teaching persuasive because of the focus on other types of writing. The teachers wanted to develop their students’ skill in writing persuasively. They figured that if the writing was meaningful, had a social purpose and real audience they would not be teaching to the test and students would show what they know naturally. This study investigated the effects of writing-process- based instruction on the quality of students’ performance to test-like prompts.

Both classes were in the same urban, northeast school district. One class was a third grade located in a middle class neighborhood containing a rent subsidized housing project. The other was a fourth grade class in a neighborhood of rundown row houses. Both teachers dedicated class time to writing workshop daily. The workshops consisted 10-15 minutes of instruction, independent writing and teacher and peer conferences.
 * Classroom Contexts**

The key to persuasive writing is audience awareness. The writer has to know how to get the reader’s attention and convince them to believe or do something that they usually wouldn’t. Some have assumed that children don’t have the ability to anticipate the reader’s perspective. Yet others believe that children can take another’s perspective if they have a purpose for writing and a known audience.
 * What Makes Persuasive Writing Persuasive?**

The teachers focused on persuasive writing during November to December because students were making holiday requests. Both teachers taught a minilesson to model writing. Students had to learn to offer good reasons and address readers’ concerns. The teachers composed three prompts to be used with both classes. The choices were to write a letter persuading someone to buy a holiday gift that you’re sure they don’t plan to buy for you, write a letter persuading the teacher to have a holiday party during class time, or write a letter convincing P.E teacher to make in-line skating a part of class. The study occurred in three phases. The students wrote one letter before instruction and two following instruction. During the first phase the students wrote their letters convincing a relative to buy a certain gift. After writing time the student received peer feedback and edited final drafts. Phase two took place a week later. The teachers reviewed persuasive writing and shared a real example. They focused on the need for the students to think about what it would take to convince the reader that it’s a good idea. The teachers introduced the strategies of appealing to the readers’ interest, noting concerns, and countering possible objections. The third phase occurred the next week. They begin with a review minilesson. Past writing was used to look out how both writing and positions were identified. The students switched who they were writing to. The students were told to begin by writing their positions and listing reasons for and against.
 * Teaching Persuasive Writing in the Two Classrooms**

The author coded the letters resulting in four categories/moves; naming, context, strategy, and response. She found that students used an average of 2-3 more moves per letter at both levels. The impact was larger for the third grade who had used fewer more than the fourth graders before instruction. Students used more sophisticated persuasion strategies. Peer feedback was very important. Students took notes on peer suggestions when sharing their drafts in a group. Peer feedback led to the addition of moves in revised letters.
 * Looking Closely At the Letters**

In all three cases, peer conferences and teacher instruction helped students to write more persuasively. Teachers can teach towards test-readiness while still keeping the focus on the writing process.
 * Conclusions and Implications**